RWTH Aachen
Encyclopedia
RWTH Aachen University is a research university
(strictly speaking an institute of technology
) located in Aachen
, North Rhine-Westphalia
, Germany with roughly 33,000 students enrolled in 101 study programs.
RWTH Aachen has achieved international recognition in several fields of engineering and science, especially mechanical engineering
, electrical engineering
, industrial engineering
, computer science
, physics
and chemistry
. In a 2011 report, Wirtschaftswoche
and Handelsblatt
ranked RWTH Aachen the first in Germany in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and industrial engineering as well as the third in computer science. RWTH Aachen also stood on top among universities in Germany in the aforementioned fields of engineering and computer science in CHE University Ranking 2010 published by DAAD
. The university is affiliated with a number of internationally noted scientists, including Nobel laureates
in physics and chemistry.
RWTH Aachen is a founding member of IDEA League
, a strategic alliance of five leading universities of technology in Europe. The university is also a member of TU9
, DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
) and the Top Industrial Managers for Europe
network. The university maintains close links to industry
and accounts for the highest amount of third-party funds of all German universities in both absolute and relative terms per faculty member.
In 2007, in the line of the excellence initiative, RWTH Aachen was chosen by DFG as one of nine German Universities of Excellence
for its future concept RWTH 2020: Meeting Global Challenges and additionally won funding for one graduate school and three clusters of excellence.
, the later German emperor
, was presented a donation of 5,000 talers
for charity, raised by the Aachener und Münchener Feuer-Versicherungs-Gesellschaft, the precursor of the AachenMünchener
insurance company. In March, the prince chose to use the donation to found the first Prussia
n institute of technology
somewhere in the Rhine province
. The seat of the institution remained undecided over years; while the prince initially favored Koblenz
, the cities of Aachen
, Bonn
, Cologne
and Düsseldorf
also applied, with Aachen and Cologne being the main competitors. Aachen finally won with a financing concept backed by the insurance company and local banks. Groundbreaking
for the new Polytechnikum took place on May 15, 1865 and lectures started amidst the Franco-Prussian War
on October 10, 1870 with 223 students and 32 teachers. Its primary purpose was to educate engineers, especially for the mining industry in the Ruhr area
; there were schools of chemistry
, electrical
and mechanical engineering
as well as an introductory general school that taught mathematics
and natural sciences and few social sciences
.
The first years were characterized by the unclear position of the new Prussian polytechnika (which officially were no universities). Their reputation in society was low and the number of students decreased. This began to change in 1880 when the early RWTH, amongst others, was reorganized as a Royal Technical University, gained a seat in the Prussian House of Lords
and was finally granted the right to bestow PhD (1898) degrees and Diplom
titles (introduced in 1902). The same year, over 800 male students had been enrolled; the first women were admitted in 1909. World War I
, however, was a serious setback for the university. Many students voluntarily joined and died in the war and parts of the university were shortly occupied or confiscated.
While the (then no more royal) TH Aachen flourished in the 1920s with the introduction of the more independent faculties, several new institutes and the general students' committee
, first signs of nationalist radicalization were also visible within the university. The Third Reich's Gleichschaltung
of the TH in 1933 was met with relatively low resistance from both students and faculty. Beginning in September 1933, Jewish and (alleged) Communist professors (and from 1937 on also students) were systematically persecuted and excluded from the university. Vacant Chairs
were increasingly given to NSDAP party members or sympathizers. The freedom of research and teaching was severely limited and institutes important for the regime's plans were systematically established, existing chairs promoted. Shortly closed in 1939, the TH continued courses in 1940, although with a low number of students. On October 21, 1944, when Aachen capitulated
, more than 70% of all buildings of the university were destroyed or heavily damaged.
After World War II
, the university recovered and expanded quickly. In the 1950s, many professors who had been removed because of their alleged affiliation with the Nazi party were allowed to return and a multitude of new institutes were founded. By the late 1960s, the TH had 10,000 students, placing it on top of all German technical universities. With the foundation of a philosophical
and a medical
faculty in 1965 and 1966, respectively, the university became a bit more "universal". It was especially the newly-founded faculties that began attracting new students, and the number of students almost doubled twice from 1970 (10,000) to 1980 (more than 25,000) and from 1980 to 1990 (more than 37,000). Today, the average number of students is around 30,000, with exactly one third of all students being women in the winter term of 2007/2008. By relative terms, the most popular study programs are mechanical engineering
(23.6%), medicine
(9%), electrical engineering
(8.8%), computer science
(7.1%), economics
(5.1%) and architecture
(5%).
signed an agreement to establish a private German University of Technology
in Muscat
. Professors from Aachen aided at developing the curricula for the currently five study programs and scientific staff took over some of the first courses.
In 2007, RWTH Aachen was chosen as one of nine German Universities of Excellence
for its future concept RWTH 2020: Meeting Global Challenges, earning it the connotation
of being an elite
university. However, although the list of universities honored for their future concepts mostly consists of large and already respected institutions, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research claimed that the initiative was aimed at promoting universities with a dedicated future concept so they could continue researching on an international level. Having won funds in all three lines of funding, the process brought RWTH Aachen University an additional total funding of €
180 million
from 2007-2011. The other two lines of funding were graduate schools, where the Aachen Institute for Advanced Study in Computational Engineering Science received funding and so-called "clusters of excellence", where RWTH Aachen managed to win funding for the three clusters Ultra High-Speed Mobile Information and Communication (UMIC), Integrative Production Technology for High-wage Countries and Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass (TMFB).
Hall are 500 m away from the city centre with the Aachen Cathedral
, the Audimax (biggest lecture hall) and the main refectory are 200 m farther. Other points of interest include the university's botanical garden
(Botanischer Garten Aachen
).
The RWTH has external facilities in Jülich
and Essen
and owns, together with the University of Stuttgart
, a house in Kleinwalsertal
in the Austrian Alps
.
The university is currently expanding in the city center and Melaten district. The SuperC, the new central service building for students, was opened in 2008. The groundbreaking for the new Campus-Melaten will be in 2009.
) network. Furthermore the RWTH is member of the IDEA League
, which is a strategic partnership among five of Europe's leading research universities, including TU Delft
, Imperial College London
, ETH Zürich
and ParisTech
and was the first German university starting an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
in 2008.
Compared to other German universities the RWTH Aachen received the highest amount of funds granted by third-party donors in the last years.
Almost 5,200 international students are currently enrolled within the undergraduate, graduate or PhD programme. Compared to other German universities the portion of international students at the RWTH Aachen is higher-than-average. The proximity of Aachen to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg combined with the subsequent exposure to a variety of cultural heritages has placed RWTH Aachen University in a unique position with regards to the reflection and promotion of international aspects and intensive interaction with other universities.
“ and “Wirtschaftswoche
“, currently rank RWTH Aachen the first place in Germany in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science. In the latest ranking published by DAAD
together with Centre for Higher Education Development and Die Zeit
, RWTH Aachen also stands on top among other German universities in the aforementioned fields of engineering and computer science.
In 2011 QS World University Rankings
ranked the university 140th in the world. Its global subject rankings were: 35th in Engineering & IT, 330th in Life Sciences & Biomedicine, and 82nd in Natural Sciences.
of
North Rhine-Westphalia
. Since the summer semester of 2004 the state of North Rhine-Westphalia allowed universities to request a maximum of 500€ per semester as tuition fees. Since the summer semester of 2007, all students enrolled at the RWTH Aachen have to pay these 500€, if they are not exempt for one of several reasons put forth by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. In the past, tuition fees applied solely for long-term students and second studies. Almost all basic lectures are held in German, but an increasing number of master programs require proficiency in English for admission.
The RWTH is divided into nine (previously ten) faculties:
Faculty nine was pedagogical science
s, but it was abandoned in 1989. Teacher education
, however, continued.
. The institutes offer workshops, courses and lectures for the students of RWTH Aachen.
The scientists and alumni of the RWTH Aachen played a major role in chemistry
, medicine
, electrical
, and mechanical engineering
. For example, Nobel laureate Peter Debye
received a degree in electrical engineering from RWTH Aachen and is known for the Debye model
and Debye relaxation. Another example, Helmut Zahn
and his team of the Institute for Textile Chemistry were the first who synthesised Insulin
in 1963 and they were nominated for Nobel Prize.
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
(strictly speaking an institute of technology
Institute of technology
Institute of technology is a designation employed in a wide range of learning institutions awarding different types of degrees and operating often at variable levels of the educational system...
) located in Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, Germany with roughly 33,000 students enrolled in 101 study programs.
RWTH Aachen has achieved international recognition in several fields of engineering and science, especially mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
, electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, industrial engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. In a 2011 report, Wirtschaftswoche
WirtschaftsWoche
Wirtschaftswoche is a German weekly business news magazine. “Wirtschaft” means economy and “Woche” is week. For many years, the magazine was published on Thursday, but since March 2006, this has been changed to Monday. The editorial office is at Düsseldorf....
and Handelsblatt
Handelsblatt
The Handelsblatt is a leading German language business newspaper, published in Düsseldorf by the Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt. It has a circulation of 145.437 daily copies. Its editor-in-chief is Gabor Steingart...
ranked RWTH Aachen the first in Germany in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and industrial engineering as well as the third in computer science. RWTH Aachen also stood on top among universities in Germany in the aforementioned fields of engineering and computer science in CHE University Ranking 2010 published by DAAD
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation....
. The university is affiliated with a number of internationally noted scientists, including Nobel laureates
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in physics and chemistry.
RWTH Aachen is a founding member of IDEA League
IDEA League
The IDEA League is a strategic alliance of five Europe's leading universities of technology. On October 6, 1999, the IDEA league was formed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between four leading European universities of technology: Imperial College London , Delft University of...
, a strategic alliance of five leading universities of technology in Europe. The university is also a member of TU9
TU9
TU9 German Institutes of Technology e. V. is an incorporated society of the nine most prestigious, oldest, and largest universities focusing on engineering and technology in Germany...
, DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is an important German research funding organization and the largest such organization in Europe.-Function:...
) and the Top Industrial Managers for Europe
Top Industrial Managers for Europe
Top Industrial Managers for Europe is a network of more than fifty engineering schools and faculties and technical universities....
network. The university maintains close links to industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and accounts for the highest amount of third-party funds of all German universities in both absolute and relative terms per faculty member.
In 2007, in the line of the excellence initiative, RWTH Aachen was chosen by DFG as one of nine German Universities of Excellence
German Universities Excellence Initiative
The Excellence Initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Research Foundation aims to promote cutting-edge research and to create outstanding conditions for young scientists at universities, to deepen cooperation between disciplines and institutions, to...
for its future concept RWTH 2020: Meeting Global Challenges and additionally won funding for one graduate school and three clusters of excellence.
History
On January 25, 1858, prince Frederic William of PrussiaFrederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
, the later German emperor
German Emperor
This article is about the emperors of the German Empire. For full list of German monarchs before 1871, see List of German monarchs.The German Emperor was the official title of the Head of State and ruler of the German Empire, beginning with the proclamation of Wilhelm I as emperor during the...
, was presented a donation of 5,000 talers
Vereinsthaler
The Vereinsthaler was a standard silver coin used in most German states and the Austrian Empire in the years prior to German unification.- Introduction :...
for charity, raised by the Aachener und Münchener Feuer-Versicherungs-Gesellschaft, the precursor of the AachenMünchener
AMB Generali
Generali Deutschland, until 2008: AMB Generali Holding AG is a German holding company consisting of about 20 insurance companies. It is the second largest insurance company in Germany after Allianz. It is headquartered in Cologne. Companies AMB Generali owns include AachenMünchener, CosmosDirekt,...
insurance company. In March, the prince chose to use the donation to found the first Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n institute of technology
Institute of technology
Institute of technology is a designation employed in a wide range of learning institutions awarding different types of degrees and operating often at variable levels of the educational system...
somewhere in the Rhine province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
. The seat of the institution remained undecided over years; while the prince initially favored Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, the cities of Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
also applied, with Aachen and Cologne being the main competitors. Aachen finally won with a financing concept backed by the insurance company and local banks. Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
for the new Polytechnikum took place on May 15, 1865 and lectures started amidst the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
on October 10, 1870 with 223 students and 32 teachers. Its primary purpose was to educate engineers, especially for the mining industry in the Ruhr area
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
; there were schools of chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, electrical
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
and mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
as well as an introductory general school that taught mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and natural sciences and few social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
.
Prussian House of Lords
The Prussian House of Lords was the first chamber of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1850-1918. The second chamber was the Prussian House of Representatives . The House of Lords was created on January 31, 1850 with the adoption of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia...
and was finally granted the right to bestow PhD (1898) degrees and Diplom
Diplom
A Diplom is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Finland , Greece, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Ukraine...
titles (introduced in 1902). The same year, over 800 male students had been enrolled; the first women were admitted in 1909. World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, however, was a serious setback for the university. Many students voluntarily joined and died in the war and parts of the university were shortly occupied or confiscated.
While the (then no more royal) TH Aachen flourished in the 1920s with the introduction of the more independent faculties, several new institutes and the general students' committee
AStA
The General Students' Committee or AStA, is the acting executive board and the external representing agency of the student body at universities in most German states. It is therefore considered the student government and student representative organization...
, first signs of nationalist radicalization were also visible within the university. The Third Reich's Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung , meaning "coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line", is a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control and tight coordination over all aspects of society. The historian Richard J...
of the TH in 1933 was met with relatively low resistance from both students and faculty. Beginning in September 1933, Jewish and (alleged) Communist professors (and from 1937 on also students) were systematically persecuted and excluded from the university. Vacant Chairs
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
were increasingly given to NSDAP party members or sympathizers. The freedom of research and teaching was severely limited and institutes important for the regime's plans were systematically established, existing chairs promoted. Shortly closed in 1939, the TH continued courses in 1940, although with a low number of students. On October 21, 1944, when Aachen capitulated
Capitulation (surrender)
Capitulation , an agreement in time of war for the surrender to a hostile armed force of a particular body of troops, a town or a territory....
, more than 70% of all buildings of the university were destroyed or heavily damaged.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the university recovered and expanded quickly. In the 1950s, many professors who had been removed because of their alleged affiliation with the Nazi party were allowed to return and a multitude of new institutes were founded. By the late 1960s, the TH had 10,000 students, placing it on top of all German technical universities. With the foundation of a philosophical
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and a medical
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
faculty in 1965 and 1966, respectively, the university became a bit more "universal". It was especially the newly-founded faculties that began attracting new students, and the number of students almost doubled twice from 1970 (10,000) to 1980 (more than 25,000) and from 1980 to 1990 (more than 37,000). Today, the average number of students is around 30,000, with exactly one third of all students being women in the winter term of 2007/2008. By relative terms, the most popular study programs are mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
(23.6%), medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
(9%), electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
(8.8%), computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
(7.1%), economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
(5.1%) and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
(5%).
Recent developments
In December 2006, RWTH Aachen and the Sultanate of OmanOman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
signed an agreement to establish a private German University of Technology
German University of Technology in Oman
The German University of Technology in Oman was established in 2007 in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University in Germany, one of the leading universities of technology in Europe....
in Muscat
Muscat, Oman
Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. As of 2008, the population of the Muscat metropolitan area was 1,090,797. The metropolitan area spans approximately and includes six provinces called wilayats...
. Professors from Aachen aided at developing the curricula for the currently five study programs and scientific staff took over some of the first courses.
In 2007, RWTH Aachen was chosen as one of nine German Universities of Excellence
German Universities Excellence Initiative
The Excellence Initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Research Foundation aims to promote cutting-edge research and to create outstanding conditions for young scientists at universities, to deepen cooperation between disciplines and institutions, to...
for its future concept RWTH 2020: Meeting Global Challenges, earning it the connotation
Connotation
A connotation is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word's or phrase's explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation....
of being an elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
university. However, although the list of universities honored for their future concepts mostly consists of large and already respected institutions, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research claimed that the initiative was aimed at promoting universities with a dedicated future concept so they could continue researching on an international level. Having won funds in all three lines of funding, the process brought RWTH Aachen University an additional total funding of €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
180 million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
from 2007-2011. The other two lines of funding were graduate schools, where the Aachen Institute for Advanced Study in Computational Engineering Science received funding and so-called "clusters of excellence", where RWTH Aachen managed to win funding for the three clusters Ultra High-Speed Mobile Information and Communication (UMIC), Integrative Production Technology for High-wage Countries and Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass (TMFB).
Campus
The RWTH is not a campus university. Instead, its buildings are spread over some parts of the city. There are two core areas (midtown and Melaten district), though they are not very distinct. The Main Building and the KármánTheodore von Karman
Theodore von Kármán was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. He is responsible for many key advances in aerodynamics, notably his work on supersonic and hypersonic airflow characterization...
Hall are 500 m away from the city centre with the Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral, frequently referred to as the "Imperial Cathedral" , is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany. The church is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was known as the "Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen" during the Middle Ages...
, the Audimax (biggest lecture hall) and the main refectory are 200 m farther. Other points of interest include the university's botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
(Botanischer Garten Aachen
Botanischer Garten Aachen
The Botanischer Garten Aachen is a botanical garden maintained by RWTH Aachen. It is variously known as the Botanische Garten der RWTH Aachen, more formally the Botanische Garten der Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, and sometimes the Freundeskreis Botanischer Garten or...
).
The RWTH has external facilities in Jülich
Jülich
Jülich is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Jülich is well known as location of a world-famous research centre, the Forschungszentrum Jülich and as shortwave transmission site of Deutsche Welle...
and Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
and owns, together with the University of Stuttgart
University of Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart is a university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized in 10 faculties....
, a house in Kleinwalsertal
Kleinwalsertal
Kleinwalsertal is a part of Austria, but only accessible from Germany to the north, and thus is an Austrian "practical exclave" or "pene-exclave". Prior to Austria joining the European Union, the area had tax-free status....
in the Austrian Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
.
The university is currently expanding in the city center and Melaten district. The SuperC, the new central service building for students, was opened in 2008. The groundbreaking for the new Campus-Melaten will be in 2009.
Internationality
Double degrees and student mobility are promoted with other technology universities through the TIME (Top Industrial Managers for EuropeTop Industrial Managers for Europe
Top Industrial Managers for Europe is a network of more than fifty engineering schools and faculties and technical universities....
) network. Furthermore the RWTH is member of the IDEA League
IDEA League
The IDEA League is a strategic alliance of five Europe's leading universities of technology. On October 6, 1999, the IDEA league was formed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between four leading European universities of technology: Imperial College London , Delft University of...
, which is a strategic partnership among five of Europe's leading research universities, including TU Delft
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology , also known as TU Delft, is the largest and oldest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands...
, Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
, ETH Zürich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
and ParisTech
ParisTech
ParisTech the Paris Institute of Technology is one of the collegiate universities in France. It gathers 11 of the best French engineering schools, covering nearly the whole spectrum of engineering science, and 1 business school, aiming to be of comparable status to the most famous universities of...
and was the first German university starting an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program provides funding and/or credit to undergraduate students who volunteer for faculty-mentored research projects pertaining to all academic disciplines at universities such as Boston University, the University of California, Irvine, the Massachusetts...
in 2008.
Compared to other German universities the RWTH Aachen received the highest amount of funds granted by third-party donors in the last years.
Almost 5,200 international students are currently enrolled within the undergraduate, graduate or PhD programme. Compared to other German universities the portion of international students at the RWTH Aachen is higher-than-average. The proximity of Aachen to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg combined with the subsequent exposure to a variety of cultural heritages has placed RWTH Aachen University in a unique position with regards to the reflection and promotion of international aspects and intensive interaction with other universities.
Rankings
On the national level, two prominent German newspapers, “HandelsblattHandelsblatt
The Handelsblatt is a leading German language business newspaper, published in Düsseldorf by the Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt. It has a circulation of 145.437 daily copies. Its editor-in-chief is Gabor Steingart...
“ and “Wirtschaftswoche
WirtschaftsWoche
Wirtschaftswoche is a German weekly business news magazine. “Wirtschaft” means economy and “Woche” is week. For many years, the magazine was published on Thursday, but since March 2006, this has been changed to Monday. The editorial office is at Düsseldorf....
“, currently rank RWTH Aachen the first place in Germany in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science. In the latest ranking published by DAAD
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation....
together with Centre for Higher Education Development and Die Zeit
Die Zeit
Die Zeit is a German nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism.With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper...
, RWTH Aachen also stands on top among other German universities in the aforementioned fields of engineering and computer science.
In 2011 QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
ranked the university 140th in the world. Its global subject rankings were: 35th in Engineering & IT, 330th in Life Sciences & Biomedicine, and 82nd in Natural Sciences.
| Ranking | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THES The Times Higher Education Supplement The Times Higher Education , formerly Times Higher Education Supplement , is a weekly British magazine based in London reporting specifically on news and other issues related to higher education... -QS Rankings (2003-2009) QS Rankings (2010-) (Technology) |
35 | 39 | 57 | 70 | 83 | 39 | 28 | 38 | |
| THES-QS Rankings (2003-2009) QS Rankings (2010-) (Natural Sciences) | |||||||||
| 59 | 136 | 151 | 147 | 81 | 86 | ||||
| Research Performance Index (Engineering) | |||||||||
| 96 | |||||||||
| Research Performance Index (For Pure, Natural, and Mathematical Sciences) | |||||||||
| 79 | |||||||||
| Academic Ranking of World Universities (Mathematics) | |||||||||
| 77-100 | 76-101 | ||||||||
| THES-QS Rankings (2003-2009) QS World University Rankings QS World University Rankings The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004.... (2010-) (World) |
140 | 158 | 182 | 216 | 182 | 172 | 172 | 184 | |
| The Times Higher Education The Times Higher Education Supplement The Times Higher Education , formerly Times Higher Education Supplement , is a weekly British magazine based in London reporting specifically on news and other issues related to higher education... World University Rankings (World) |
168 | 182 | |||||||
| Academic Ranking of World Universities Academic Ranking of World Universities The Academic Ranking of World Universities , commonly known as the Shanghai ranking, is a publication that was founded and compiled by the Shanghai Jiaotong University to rank universities globally. The rankings have been conducted since 2003 and updated annually... (World) |
201-300 | 201-300 | 201-302 | 201-302 | 203-304 | 201-300 | 203-300 | 201-300 |
Organisation
RWTH Aachen is run by the federal stateStates of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
. Since the summer semester of 2004 the state of North Rhine-Westphalia allowed universities to request a maximum of 500€ per semester as tuition fees. Since the summer semester of 2007, all students enrolled at the RWTH Aachen have to pay these 500€, if they are not exempt for one of several reasons put forth by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. In the past, tuition fees applied solely for long-term students and second studies. Almost all basic lectures are held in German, but an increasing number of master programs require proficiency in English for admission.
| F 1 - Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences RWTH Aachen Faculty of Mathematics, Computer science, and Natural sciences The Faculty of Mathematics, Computer science, and Natural sciences is one of nine faculties at the RWTH Aachen University. It comprises five sections for mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry and biology... |
| F 2 - Faculty of Architecture RWTH Aachen Faculty of Architecture The Faculty of Architecture is one of nine faculties at the RWTH Aachen University. It comprises 22 chairs and institutes including art history, structural design or load carrying construction. The Faculty was found in 1880... |
| F 3 - Faculty of Civil Engineering RWTH Aachen Faculty of Civil Engineering The Faculty of Civil Engineering is one of nine faculties at the RWTH Aachen University. It was found in 1880 and produced several notable individuals like Philipp Forchheimer... |
| F 4 - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering RWTH Aachen Faculty of Mechanical Engineering The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering is one of the nine faculties at the RWTH Aachen University and is widely recognized as one of the foremosts of such a faculty in Europe and the world . It was established in 1880 and has produced several notable individuals including Wendelin Wiedeking, Hugo... |
| F 5 - Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering RWTH Aachen Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering The Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering is one of nine faculties at the RWTH Aachen University. It comprises three sections for Raw Materials and Waste Disposal Technology, Metallurgy and Materials Technology and Geoscience and Geology. The Faculty was found in 1880 and produced... |
| F 6 - Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology RWTH Aachen Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology is one of nine faculties at the RWTH Aachen University. It was separated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 1959. RWTH has produced several notable individuals. Nobel laureate Peter Debye received a degree in electrical... |
| F 7 - Faculty of Arts and Humanities RWTH Aachen Faculty of Arts and Humanities The Faculty of Arts and Humanities is one of nine faculties at the RWTH Aachen University. It was found in 1965 and produced several notable individuals like Arnold Gehlen or Klaus Mehnert. Approximately 4,200 students are enrolled in the faculty. Dean of the Faculty is Prof. Dr.sc.pol... |
| F 8 - School of Business and Economics RWTH Aachen Faculty of Business and Economics The Faculty of Business and Economics is one of nine faculties at the RWTH Aachen University. It was found in 1985. Approximately 1,500 students are enrolled in the faculty... |
| F 10 - Faculty of Medicine RWTH Aachen Faculty of Medicine The Faculty of Medicine is one of nine faculties at the RWTH Aachen University. It was found in 1966. The Klinikum Aachen contains many specialised clinics, theoretical and clinical institutes and other research facilities, lecture halls, schools for jobs in the medical field, and all facilities... |
Faculty nine was pedagogical science
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
s, but it was abandoned in 1989. Teacher education
Teacher education
Teacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community....
, however, continued.
Fraunhofer-Institutes
The university cooperates with the Fraunhofer-Institutes situated in the Melaten district of AachenAachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
. The institutes offer workshops, courses and lectures for the students of RWTH Aachen.
- Applied Information Technology (FIT) Sankt Augustin and Aachen
- Fraunhofer-Institute for Laser Technology ILT
- Fraunhofer-Institute for Production Technology IPT
- Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology
Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance (JARA)
The Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) was founded by the RWTH Aachen and Forschungszentrum Jülich in 2007. Four sections are coordinated by the research facilities:- JARA-Brain (Diagnosis and therapy of neurologic sickness)
- JARA-Fit (Fundamentals of future information technology)
- JARA-Sim (Simulation Sciences)
- JARA-Energy (Energy research)
Associations
- RWTH Aachen - North American Alumni Association Prof. Dr. Burkhard Rauhut, former president of the RWTH, and Prof. Dr. Laszlo Baksay, President of the newly founded "Association of Alumni, Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen University in North-America" signed the founding statement for a new branch of the RWTH Alumni Community in Melbourne (Florida) in May 2006. Ever since, the association has proven to be a valuable source of job and internship offers as well as a reliable organizer of entertaining yet informative alumni meetings in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
- AStA (Students' Union)
- AISA (Assoc. of Indian Students in Aachen)
- GATS (Association of Thai Students in Aachen)
- Pakistan Student Association.
- Flugwissenschaftliche Vereinigung AachenFlugwissenschaftliche Vereinigung AachenFlugwissenschaftliche Vereinigung Aachen is a non-profit organization, founded in 1920, which is closely associated to RWTH Aachen University , with members consisting of RWTH Aachen students, which have included Felix Kracht...
(abbreviationAbbreviationAn abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
: FVA, English: Flight Research Association Aachen). The FVA academic flying group is closely affiliated with RWTH Aachen and overseen by IDAFLIEG (Interessengemeinschaft deutscher akademischer Fliegergruppen e.V.).
Future
RWTH Aachen University plans a fundamental enlargement and restructuring of its campus for the close future. The new campus areas shall provide space for clusters of research institutions and industry partners to offer a better integration of research and technology. Approximately 10,000 new jobs are prospected to be created. Current plans state that construction activities shall begin in 2009. The total investment is roughly € 2 billion.Notable faculty and alumni
RWTH Aachen University has educated several notable individuals, including some Nobel laureates in physics and chemistry.The scientists and alumni of the RWTH Aachen played a major role in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, electrical
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, and mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
. For example, Nobel laureate Peter Debye
Peter Debye
Peter Joseph William Debye FRS was a Dutch physicist and physical chemist, and Nobel laureate in Chemistry.-Early life:...
received a degree in electrical engineering from RWTH Aachen and is known for the Debye model
Debye model
In thermodynamics and solid state physics, the Debye model is a method developed by Peter Debye in 1912 for estimating the phonon contribution to the specific heat in a solid. It treats the vibrations of the atomic lattice as phonons in a box, in contrast to the Einstein model, which treats the...
and Debye relaxation. Another example, Helmut Zahn
Helmut Zahn
Helmut Zahn was a German chemist who is often credited as the first to synthesised Insulin in 1963. His results synthesizing insulin were achieved almost simultaneously with that of Panayotis Katsoyannis at the University of Pittsburgh...
and his team of the Institute for Textile Chemistry were the first who synthesised Insulin
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
in 1963 and they were nominated for Nobel Prize.
Trivia
- Together with the lord mayorLord MayorThe Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
and the cathedral provostProvost (religion)A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
of Aachen, the rector of RWTH Aachen University is one of three automatic members of the board of directors of the International Charlemagne Prize of AachenKarlspreis- See also :*Charlemagne*European integration*Leipzig Human Rights Award, originally called the "Alternative Charlemagne Award", formed in opposition to Clinton's recognition with the award- External links :* http://www.karlspreis.de/ *...
. The prize is awarded annually for exceptional contributions towards European unityEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and ranks amongst the most prestigious European prizes.
External links
- RWTH Aachen (English version)
- University Hospital (English version)
- fva.rwth-aachen.de
- Idaflieg.de